Teaching
Education
A qualified and dedicated international educator with diverse experiences in museum education and university lecturing, Purnima’s teaching style is engaging and enthusiastic in the delivery of classes, professional development sessions, writing workshops, and innovative resources. She inspires a love for English through her passion for language, literature, creative writing, and performance.
Innovative & creative Educator
Inspiring English & Creativity
Purnima is an experienced Secondary English teacher with over a decade of expertise teaching language and literature, including the (I)GCSE and International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) curricula. Her teaching career spans prestigious international, private and selective schools across Bangkok, London and Melbourne. She maintains high expectations, implements proven methods refined with hundreds of students, achieves exceptional academic results and promotes enjoyment in learning language, literature and creative expression, whilst prioritising student wellbeing.
With extensive teaching experience in schools, universities and museums and as a spoken word facilitator, along with research collaborations and published work on creative writing and visual literacy, she continuously enhances her innovative curriculum design and arts-integrated teaching practices.
As a teacher-practitioner, she combines her roles as teacher, writer, poet and author—asserting that passion-driven and innovative teaching involves creativity, capitalising on arts industry experience and research-led methods. Her creative practice inspires her teaching, fostering authentic learning experiences. Some of her young students have gone on to deliver TEDx Talks, win at spoken word poetry slams, perform at spoken word poetry showcases, publish their own books and anthologies and develop a genuine interest in the craft.
Teaching Philosophy: Empowering Voices and Minds
In Her Words
With a deep passion for creative writing, literature, and the arts, coupled with a dedication to education, I am committed to fostering student knowledge and skills in innovative, motivational, and creative learning environments. As a seasoned artist, author, and education researcher, I draw on my successes in performances, exhibitions, and international publications to deliver authentic learning experiences.
My teaching philosophy revolves around creating an environment that ignites learning, inquiry, curiosity, and creativity through interactive, interdisciplinary, student-centred pedagogy. I encourage the expression of ideas and nurture a sense of responsibility for learning. This involves personalised learning through differentiated curricula and assessments tailored to individual student needs, as well as integrating rich multicultural perspectives.
Integrating Diversity, Equity, Inclusivity and Justice (DEIJ) values, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and global literature into my units empowers students to explore their creative potential and understand their roles in a globalised world. Teaching global literature fosters internationally minded citizens who critically engage with global issues. This approach to education develops attributes essential for global citizenship: informed critical literacy, social connectivity, respect for diversity, ethical responsibility, and key skills.
Designing student-led projects that promote autonomy in their learning enables students to choose writing styles, forms, themes, and genres that interest them personally. Through this approach, I encourage experimentation and supportive risk-taking, fostering their development as writers who take pride in their work, while also promoting student authorship through opportunities for publication, public speaking, and performance.
I believe in educators actively engaging in their profession, continuously participating in professional development, and evaluating teaching pedagogy for ongoing improvement and responsiveness to diverse student needs. This philosophy, combined with my reflective and proactive approach, forms the foundation of my practice, ensuring my students develop a love of learning.
I share my expertise through presentations and public talks, and engage in innovative educational practices. For example, participation in ‘working parties’ focused on research and methods to enhance teaching and learning with new AI technologies, the GTT (Great Teaching Toolkit) professional learning community team, and various Teaching and Learning Community (TLC) teams that focus on Flipped Learning, Student Self-Assessment, and Wellbeing.
Beyond teaching, my experience as a prize-winning spoken word poet, editor, and published author in fiction and nonfiction, along with contributions to global publications like Arts Hub Australia, The Melbourne Review, Indian Link Australia, and The Nation Thailand, positions me to understand the challenges and triumphs of the writing journey. I mentor students to navigate these challenges, boosting confidence in key English skills essential for success in diverse English curricula and life beyond the classroom.
Teaching Faculties
Purnima has contributed to English departments in outstanding, high-achieving, and leading international, private, and selective school environments in Australia, the UK, and currently at a world-class British international school in Thailand. Her expertise includes teaching the UK National Curriculum for Key Stage 3 (Year 7-9), (I)GCSE (Year 10-11), and IB curricula for English Language and Literature subjects. She is also an experienced IB Extended Essay supervisor in English Language and Literature.
Creating inquiry-based, creative learning environments, Purnima fosters students’ appreciation and critical understanding of global literature and the issues explored by authors. She leverages her active involvement in art, writing, and publishing communities to provide practical experiences and opportunities for students to engage with contemporary ideas and writers, thereby bringing a vast field of knowledge and understanding to enrich student learning.
Purnima has facilitated various Secondary school ECAs, including creative writing clubs, the ‘Word Is Out’ Key Stage 3 magazine, and Extension English for Extended Learners. She founded and facilitates the ‘Spoken Word Poetry Showcase’ programme at the school where she teaches, guiding students in creating and publishing poetry anthologies on global issues. This culminates in performances where students express their perspectives on global and local issues and individualities to an audience, promoting the values of Global Citizenship and inspiring others to join them in making positive changes in the world.
Purnima has experienced the transformative power of connecting people with art galleries and museums, valuing the role of divergent thinking in creating high-impact art experiences for diverse museum audiences, including underrepresented communities. Drawing on her published research on Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS), visual literacy through art, museum education practices and pedagogies, she creates accessible, enriching learning experiences promoting social inclusion and cultural diversity.
During her tenure at The National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) and the Ian Potter Museum of Art (Melbourne), Purnima planned, delivered, and evaluated a range of education programs for primary, secondary, tertiary students, and teachers. In her roles as Education Officer and Learning Resources Developer, she developed customised interdisciplinary programs and resources to support and enrich students’ understanding of key knowledge and skills across subject curricula, with particular expertise in English, ESL, and Art subjects. Purnima has also conducted professional development sessions for English teachers, providing training on incorporating visual art into the English language and literature curricula in the classroom.
At the University of Melbourne, Purnima delivered two subjects as both a lecturer and a guest lecturer to Master of Teaching and Master Education students. The subjects included:
Learning Area Visual Art 1:
This subject introduces teacher candidates to the core curriculum knowledge required for teaching Visual Art in secondary schools. It covers the learning and teaching principles that form the foundation of effective classrooms, supported by relevant research.
Teaching and Artistic Practice:
This subject explores, through practice, discussion, and reading, the beliefs of participating students regarding the relationship and tensions between being an artist and being a teacher. Students engage in a personal artistic exercise, resulting in produced work or work-in-progress for an exhibition, providing a method for exploring this complex issue.
Extra-Curricular Activity Programme
Inspiring Change Through Spoken Word Poetry
Combining her professional experience in spoken word with inspiring students through poetry, Purnima fosters confident individual expression and promotes global citizenship values. The Spoken Word Poetry Showcase, facilitated as part of her school’s English Enrichment ECAs, guides students to explore global issues, analyse diverse poetry forms, and enhance their creative writing and public speaking skills. Each year focuses on a theme, encouraging critical and creative thinking as students inspire others to join them in effecting positive change. They unlock their creative potential through writing, public speaking, and publication in anthologies.
View the Spoken Word Poetry Showcase event and anthologies:
- Unity in Diversity event at Bangkok Patana School and anthology publication
- Poetry for Activism event at Bangkok Patana School and anthology publication
- Champions for Change event at Bangkok Patana School and anthology publication
FEATURED PROJECTS
Creative Learning in Action
Purnima inspires enjoyment and curiosity while supporting the development of future-ready skills such as visual literacy, resilience, creativity, leadership, public speaking and empathy. Through imaginative, interdisciplinary, project-based learning, she aims to build confidence and foster deeper creative thinking, encouraging internationally minded global citizens to appreciate world literature, engage with the IB Learner Profile and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and become active changemakers in their local and global communities. Explore examples of how this philosophy comes to life through student-led learning in action.
Nature, Art and the Power of Poetic Imagination
Rooted in the Outdoor Classroom and inspired by a staff art exhibition, this interdisciplinary project saw Year 7 students become authors and confident performers. Combining environmental observation with global poetic traditions, students crafted their own nature poetry collections and shared them live. Through art, poetry and creative expression, they developed visual literacy, deepened their connection to the natural world and found their voice as creative changemakers. Read more in ‘Poetry in the Outdoor Classroom’ and ‘Nature, Art and the Power of Poetic Imagination.’
Designing Tomorrow: Building Utopias Rooted in SDGs
Students envision and create utopian societies inspired by Sustainable Development Goals, combining writing, design and critical thinking. From analysing activist speeches to crafting persuasive speeches, they learn to communicate bold ideas and solutions towards shaping a sustainable and equitable future. Read more in ‘Designing Tomorrow: Building Utopias Rooted in Sustainable Development Goals.’
Ekphrastic Poetry Anthologies: Writing Inspired by Art
Students explored how visual art inspires creative writing by closely observing paintings and artworks. Through guided activities, they built descriptive language, interpretive skills and vivid imagery, transforming artworks into imaginative poems, culminating in beautifully crafted poetry anthologies.
Masterclass: How to Use Visual Art to Inspire Your Creative Writing
Discover how visual art can unlock creative expression in this ekphrastic writing masterclass, where students explored abstract art, crafted original poems and performed their work. Watch the full session here to see practical strategies in action and a powerful student performance.
Illuminated Manuscripts: Poetry and Art in Dialogue
Students explored the poetry and artistry of William Blake, then created their own illuminated manuscripts by combining original poems with hand-drawn illustrations. This project deepened their understanding of Blake’s work and the symbolic relationship between word and image in Romantic literature.
Let’s Connect
Contact Purnima for more information about her creations, projects, workshop facilitation, bookings for talks & performances or for press, media inquiries and collaborations.